1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a connector with a terminal protecting board (hereinafter referred to as "a terminal-protecting-board type connector", when applicable).
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
A variety of connectors are employed for connection of wire harnesses, for instance, in automobiles. That is, one connector is connected to connecting terminals which are connected to a branch line of a wire harness, and another connector is connected to connecting terminals which are connected to conductors, for instance, in an electrical device, and those connectors are engaged with each other so that the wire harness is electrically connected to the conductors.
In this case, the end portions of male terminals inserted in one connector housing protrude through the front end of the connector housing, and are inserted into female terminals in a mating connector housing. Hence, the end portions of the protruding male terminals may be deformed or bent by external force before engagement; or they may be deformed contacting the mating connector housing during engagement.
In order to overcome this difficulty, the following method has been disclosed, for instance, by Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 292584/1988 (the term "OPI" as used herein means an "unexamined application"). In this method, a cylindrical terminal protecting device is set in the connector until engagement is accomplished. This will be described in more detail.
As shown in FIG. 12, a female connector 30 has a through-hole 31, in which a male terminal 33 connected to an electric wire 32 is inserted. The male terminal 33 is locked by an elastic lance 34 while being guided by a wall 36. A terminal protecting device 60 is set inside the female connector 30 such that it is slidably movable along the inner surface of a housing 37.
The terminal protecting device 60 includes a holding plate 61 and a first guide 62. The holding plate 61 has a through-hole 63 in its central portion into which the end portion 33a of the male terminal 33 is inserted. The first guide 62 is so divided as to embrace the wall 36 and the lance 34, and it is movable in the space between the housing 37 and the lance 34, or the wall 36.
A second guide 66 is formed as opposed to the holding plate 61, and it has an engaging portion 67 at the end as viewed in the direction of engagement of the connector. The engaging portion 67 is engaged with a recess 69 formed in the housing, to hold the terminal protecting device 60 at a predetermined position in the connector. Since the device 60 is held at the predetermined position in this manner, the end portion 33a of the male terminal 33 is held at a predetermined position by the holding plate 61.
When, as shown in FIG. 13, the female connector 30 is inserted into a male connector 40, the end portion 33a of the male terminal 33 is inserted into a through-hole 49 formed in the male connector 40 because it is held at the predetermined position as was described above.
As the female connector 30 is further engaged with the male connector 40, the engaging portion 67 is raised from the recess 69; that is, it is disengaged 20 from the recess 69, so that the terminal protecting device 60 is pushed into the female connector 30. As a result, the end portion 33a of the male terminal 33 protrudes through the through-hole 63 of the holding plate 61 and inserted into the female terminal 43. Thus, the connectors have been engaged with each other.
However, the connector thus designed is disadvantageous for the following reasons:
The end portion 33a of the male terminal 33 inserted into the female connector 30 protrudes out of the terminal protecting device 60 through the front end face. Hence, the end portion 33a may be bent by something before engagement; or it may be bent while the female connector 30 is being engaged with the male connector 40.
On the other hand, the male terminal 33 may be inserted into another through-hole of the female connector 30 by mistake. In this case, the male terminal 33 must be extracted with a suitable jig, and for this purpose the holding plate 61 must be removed, which adversely affects not only the connector engaging operation but also connector maintenance work.